RG 102(A) GEOLOGICAL REPORT YAMASKA - ASTON AREA 6 GOVERNMENT OF QUEBEC DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES RENÉ LEVESQUE, Minister P.-E. AUGER, Deputy Minister GEOLOGICAL REPORT 102 YAMASKA-ASTON AREA NICOLET,YAMASKA,BERTHIER RICHELIEU AND DRUMMOND COUNTIES by T.H. C PROPPIETE DU GOUVERNEMENT DU aueBEc SERVICE DE LA GÈOtNFORMATION PTr-r- "("'irlrz.,2)11d n ri 17-L. r\t17.r. t;';" ..;•'. t.LL !Li L:7 t LE CENT. E CONSULTATION LA DOCUMENTA flON C.SiOSCIENT: QUE 1964 PRIX : St-François river, looking downstream, 3 miles above Pierreville. Prior to 1922, when the Yamaska topographic map was made, Vaches river followed the course indicated by the broken line, later breaking through a peninsula extending downstream from the hill in the right foreground as far as the shrub-cov- ered hill near the old mouth, isolating the latter hill and shortening its course. Geology is largely concerned with change, of which this is one example. GOVERNMENT OF QUEBEC DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES RENÉ LEVESQUE, Minister P.-E. AUGER, Deputy Minister GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION SERVICE H.W. McGERRIGLE, chief GEOLOGICAL REPORT 102 YAMASKA-ASTON AREA NICOLET, YAMASKA, BERTHIER RICHELIEU AND DRUMMOND COUNTIES by -n N ~ T.H. CLARK o ô z w 0 QUEBEC 1964 PRIX : TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 General statement 1 Location 1 Means of access 2 Field work and acknowledgments 2 Previous work 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA 3 Topography 3 Drainage 4 Natural resources 4 GENERAL GEOLOGY 4 General statement 4 Table of formations 6 Historical review 7 Formations exposed west of the Champlain fault 8 Bécancour River formation 8 Nicolet river exposures 9 Pontgravé river exposures 11 St. Francis river exposures 12 La Baie exposures 16 Information from wells 16 Correlations with sections elsewhere 16 Pontgravé River formation 17 Nicolet river exposures 24 Pontgravé river exposures 24 St. Francis river exposures 26 Thickness of the Pontgravé River formation 31 Correlations with sections elsewhere 31 Nicolet River formation 32 Section along Nicolet river 32 Stratigraphic analysis 32 Faunal content and relationship 45 Upstream exposures 46 Bécancour river exposures 47 Breault member at Breault 48 Exposures on St. Wenceslas river 52 Pontgravé river and Rivière des Saults exposures 52 St. Francis river exposures 53 Thickness of the Nicolet River formation 61 - I - Page Correlations with sections elsewhere 62 Formations exposed east of Champlain fault 62 General statement 62 Sillery series 63 Nicolet river exposures 63 Pontgravé river exposures 65 Notre Dame du Bon Conseil exposures 67 Conclusions 68 Igneous rocks. 68 St. Flavien igneous series 69 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY 70 Chambly-Fortierville syncline 70 Northwest limb 70 Southeast limb 70 St. Germain complex 72 Bécancour river 72 Nicolet river 73 Pontgravé river 73 St. Francis river 73 Champlain fault 75 Pontgravé river, Ste. Brigitte des Saults 75 Saults river 76 Bécancour river 77 The Sillery series 80 Pontgravé river 80 Nicolet river 81 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY 81 Building stone 81 Road material 82 Oil and natural gas 82 APPENDIX: A. Table of dips and strikes along Nicolet river 83 B. Surveying data used in constructing map of Nicolet river 84 C. Water wells yielding natural gas 85 D. Register of deep wells 87 E. Information concerning quarries 187 BIBLIOGRAPHY 189 ALPHABETICAL INDEX , 191 ILLUSTRATIONS Map No. 1425 - Yamaska-Aston area (in pocket) Figures Page 1 - Cross section of Richmond beds along north bank of Nicolet river 9 2 - Cross section of Richmond and Lorraine beds along north bank of St. Francis river upstream and downstream from house of L.G. Biron 13 3 - Map and cross section of Richmond and Lorraine beds along south bank of St. Francis river, opposite house of L.G. Biron 15 4 - Map and cross section of exposures along north bank of Nicolet river 3 miles south of Grand St. Esprit. (Attached) 33 5 - Tabulation of Richmond and Lorraine fossils identified by Foerste and the writer from the section along Nicolet river shown in Figure 4. (Attached) 45 6 - Cliff section along north bank of Nicolet river from anticline of Figure 4 for half a mile upstream. St. Germain complex 47 7 - Map and cross section of the beds of the Breault member of the Nicolet River formation at Breault 49 8 - Exposures of the Sillery sandstone on Nicolet river, Pontgravé river, Saults river, and Bécancour river. 66 9 - Cross sections along both banks of St. Francis river downstream from boundary with the Upton area. 74 10 - Bécancour river, eastern half of the Aston area. Showing the distribution of rocks on each side of the Champlain fault 78 11 Correlation Chart, Ladiboro Oil Limited Holes Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 La Baie Yamaska 101 12 - Diagrammatic log, Laduboro No. 1 103 13 - Diagrammatic log, Laduboro No. 2 115 14 - Diagrammatic log, Laduboro No. 3 119 15 - Diagrammatic log, Laduboro No. 4 134 16 - Condensed diagrammatic log, Lowlands Exploration Ltd. No. 6 Nicolet 150 Plates Frontispiece -- St. Francis river, 3 miles above Pierreville, showing old and new courses of Vaches river. I A The quiet Bécancour river, 3 miles northeast of St. Wenceslas. B Boulder strewn bed of Nicolet river, looking across to Chambly beds on north bank. One mile east of western boundary of Aston area. C Rapids-infested St. Francis river. Looking across to south bank b miles above Pierreville. II A Upper beds of Pontgravé River formation. South bank of Nicolet river at lower end of horseshoe bend. B Detail of Plate II A III A Pontgravé River formation. South bank of Pontgravé river immediately below dam at La Visitation. B Fault within Pontgravé River formation. 500 feet above dam at La Visitation. South bank of Pontgravé river. IV A Nicolet river, north bank, at beginning of horseshoe bend. St. Hilaire shale with resistant sandstone beds. B Nicolet river, north bank, 1000 feet upstream from locality of Plate IV A. Lower part of St. Hilaire beds. C Nicolet river, north bank. Arrow points to anticline at base of the measured section. Folded structures upstream. V A Flow rolls on underside of St. Hilaire sandstone bed. Talus from beds shown in Plate IV A. B Light grey sandstone in Bécancour River formation. South bank of St. Francis river, 3 1/2 miles above Pierreville. VI A Drag fold in sandstone beds, Breault member of Nicolet River formation. North bank Bécancour river. B Same locality as Plate VI A. Note erosion of beds covered by hammer handle. VII A Residual "boulders" of pyroxenite. One mile east of bridge at Notre Dama du Bon Conseil. B Several "boulders" in process of being uncovered by quarrying. Same locality as Plate VII A. VIII A Approximately vertical quartz sand "veins" cutting Sillery .sand- stone. Nicolet river, S. bank, 1 1/+ miles above St. Léonard. B Detail of "veined" structure shown in Plate VIII A. Looking downward. Same locality as Plate VIII A. IX A Irregular quartz sand "veins" in Sillery sandstone. Horizontal view. Same locality as Plate VIII A. B Vertical view of "veins" to left of hammer in Plate IX A. X A Fault in Sillery quartzite, Notre Dame Quarries Company quarry at Notre Dame du Bon Conseil. The steeply inclined body (well lighted) is composed of fault breccia. B Horizontal faulting of cleaved St. Germain rocks immediately below the falls at Ste. Brigitte. North bank of Pontgravé river. XI A St. Germain complex. North bank of Pontgravé river, immediately below falls at Ste. Brigitte. Looking northeast. B Detail of Plate XI A. XII A "Logan's Line". Low angle thrust, with Sillery slates above and below. South bank, Bécancour river. Looking N. 110° W. B "Logan's Line". Low angle thrusts within St. Germain complex, diverging from pile of papers. Looking about southwest. South bank, Bécancour river. - IV - YAMASKA - ASTON AREA NICOLET, YAMASKA, BERTHIER, RICHELIEU AND DRUMMOND COUNTIES by T. H. Clark INTRODUCTION General Statement The Yamaska-Aston area is partly in the St. Lawrence Lowlands and partly in the Appalachians . The writer devoted parts of the seasons of 1943 to 1946 to the surveying of this area, and has fre- quently revisited critical localities. The records of deep wells and of quarries are up to date as of June 1, 1961. The geological survey of this area has delimited the belts of outcrop of the Upper Ordovician rocks of the Lowlands, and in particular has established the stratigraphic development and subdivision of those rocks. This has allowed serious prospecting for oil and natural gas to be undertaken, and has provided drilling operators with a reliable key to the understanding of the logs of wells drilled, or to be drilled, in this area. The survey also provides a guide for future prospecting. Location The Yamaska-Aston area lies athwart, but largely southeast of St. Lawrence river. It is bounded by longitudes 72°15' and 73°00' and by latitudes 46°00' and 46°15' and comprises 620 square miles. It includes parts of Drummond, Nicolet, Berthier, Richelieu and Yamaska counties. x The extreme northwestern corner of the area lies north of St. Lawrence river. Because there are no outcrops in that corner, the discussion of the distribution of its rocks will be deferred to the treatment of the Trois-Rivures area, to which it may be considered an extension. For completeness, however, the logs of two deep wells (Louiseville Nos. 1 and 2) are given in Appendix D. - 2 - Nicolet (pop. 3,772)` and Pierreville (pop. 1,586) are the chief towns, Others, in order of population, are St. Léonard d'Aston, La Baie, St. Zéphirin, St. Célestin, St. Wenceslas, Yamaska East, and Ste. Brigitte des Saults. Parts of Louiseville and of Notre Dame du Bon Conseil lie within this area, and there are a dozen other smaller settlements.